Bush gearing up for Iran

President George W. Bush is shaking things up both in Washington and in the military, getting all his ducks in a row for his 'new way forward' in Iraq.  I believe he is preparing for other problems down the road,  like Iran.  A confrontation with Iran is in our future.  The experts believe it may be sooner than any of us want.

When a CIA-friendly reporter, a former UN Weapons Inspector, a former CIA employee, and a former Navy Commander all warn you that war with Iran appears imminent, shouldn't we be listening? ...

Retired Navy Commander Jeff Huber warns us today that the appointment of Navy Admiral William J. Fallon to replace General John Abizad as head of the Central Command (CENTCOM) has unnoted significance:

 

ABC reports that "Fallon, who is in the Navy, is currently head of Pacific Command; he will be overseeing two ground wars, so the appointment is highly unusual."

I think ABC is missing the point.

It seems highly unusual for a navy admiral to take charge of CENTCOM until you consider two interrelated things.  First is that Bush needs a senior four-star in the CENTCOM job who hasn't gone on record as opposing additional troops in Iraq.  Second is that Fallon's CENTCOM area of responsibility will include Iran. 
A conflict with Iran would be a naval and air operation. Fallon is a naval flight officer.  He flew combat missions in Vietnam, commanded an A-6 Intruder squadron, a carrier air wing and an aircraft carrier.  As a three-star, he commanded Second Fleet and Strike Force Atlantic.  He presently heads U.S. Pacific Command.  His resume also includes duty in numerous joint and Navy staff billets, including Deputy Director for Operations with Joint Task Force Southwest Asia in Riyahd, Saudi Arabia. 

If anybody knows how to run a maritime and air operation against Iran, it's "Fox" Fallon.

Larry Johnson, a former CIA employee, sees similar portents in the reshuffling of high level defense and intelligence appointees:

 

Replacing Negroponte with retired Navy Admiral John M. McConnell and appointing retired Air Force Lt. General James Clapper as the Under Secretary of Intelligence at DOD, where he will be in charge of coordinating the budgets and activities of the NSA, the NRO, Defense Human Services, National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA), and the Defense Intelligence Agency, will give the military unprecedented control of the intelligence community.  This will mark the first time since World War II the active duty or former military officers are running the main intelligence assets of the United States. [snip]

Scott Ritter, the former UN weapons inspector who told us before we went to Iraq that there were no weapons of mass destruction there is trying to warn us again:  (read it all at Progressive Historians)

What really got my attention at Progressive Historians, a site which I really like, was this:

Our representatives, as you saw from my previous post, can be blackmailed. They can be funded. They can be twisted and persuaded. Our majority does not exist in the Senate so long as Senator Tim Johnson can't speak, can't return the hall, can't vote.

I hope things are not quite that bad in politics.  But back to my original thoughts, I do believe that President Bush is looking forward and putting people in place so that he can do what needs to be done concerning Iran, when the time comes 

BrothersJudd are wondering if recent events inside Iran may actually change the situation, or if Iranians are just hoping the free world will BELIEVE changes are taking place.  Either way, could this change how the West, specifically the United States and Israel, deal with Iran?

Rumors are circulating that Iran's 67-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is entering the final stage in his fight against cancer. Though there is an incentive among Western intelligence agencies and Iranian opposition groups to promulgate these rumors -- to give the impression that all is not well in the Islamic Republic -- there appears to be some truth to the reports. Sources inside Hezbollah indicate that the Supreme Leader's death is not imminent, but there is a real possibility that he could become incapacitated within the year. The online political blog Pajamas Media reported Thursday that the Supreme Leader has already died, though the reliability of this information remains uncertain at the time of this writing. [...]  (Strategic Forecast)

And this:

As Iran gears up for important elections in December, members of the country’s political elite are focusing on domestic politics. Aliakbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, perhaps Iran’s wiliest politician, has thrown President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s neo-conservative allies on the defensive with a well-coordinated campaign to discredit the country’s Revolutionary Guards.  (EurasiaNet)

Also see "Iran's Crocodile Rocked" and "Ahmadinejad is Judged by the people".

An article on Iran wouldn't be complete without Ahmadinejad's latest quote of the day:  "Our response to your (the West's) arrogance will be to make you die of jealousy and rage, that rage you feel for the excellent results we have succeeded in obtaining in the field of nuclear research," he said.

But is it really Iran's technology or is it Russia and China's technology, with maybe a little Pakistan thrown in for good measure?  Just wondering.

Other reading, not necessarily related:
My friend Martin at Blogbat can be read in World Net Daily
Check it out.

Egypt Fears Al-Qaeda Threat from Gaza, In the Days
How did that get in there?, ThePolitic.com, via Politics’n'Poetry

I swear that this is from some UN charter or something:

    I have witnessed women living without what is fundamental - sky, sun, a roof, food, parents, a clitoris, freedom.

Al-Zawahiri in New Tape: The U.S. "is weaker than before", Counterterrorism Blog
Typically great analysis from the Asia Times. Only UK's Independent comes at a not-so-close second
The door we never opened ...' , Weazls Revenge
The Arc Versus the Axis?, Aidan Macconachy Blog
The Iranian who wants an Apocalypse, The Air Force Pundit
Somalia the Model, Our Children Are the Guarantors
P.S. From Norway, Gates of Vienna
Raped in Oslo, Headspace and Timing
Fundamentalist Threats,  FriendlyAthiest.com
Ahmadinejad Demands IAEA Help Iran’s Nuclear Program, Sweetness and Light
YOU DON'T CUT DOWN A TREE WITH LOW HANGING FRUIT:, BrothersJudd.com
2006: THE TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD YEAR (AND WHY THERE'S HOPE), Time for Choosing.com
Cop the Truth, National Guard attacked at U.S. border

Linked with Woman Honor Thyself and 123Beta

Blue Star Chronicles, Blog Reconnoiter  

Comments

[Butch]

I have to admit, Ahmadinejad really scares me...

[Martin]

I don't know. Aren't Iranians simply building the bombs Americans don't want to build? Bush must surely understand...

[ZionistYoungster]

Thanks for the link, Debbie.

[Debbie]

You are more than welcome, Zionist Youngster. I found some really good post at your site, glad I ran across it. Don't be a stranger.

[Will Munsil]

Thanks for the link! Just wondering, how did you find my site?

[Debbie]

Wil Munsil, your site came to me via Google Alerts. Enjoyed reading your article.